I was less than 2 weeks away from seeing Blind Melon in Cleveland when Shannon Hoon passed in October of ’95. I always since assumed that I would never get another chance to see them, and if I did, I knew it just wouldn’t be the same without Shannon on vocals. I have periodically kept tabs on the band to see what they were up to. Over the last year or so, I found that they had added vocalist Travis Warren to their lineup and were working on releasing a new album. I have to admit that at first, Travis just didn’t do it for me but in March, when I saw that they were coming to Austin, I figured what the hell. I would pay twenty bucks to see a good cover band of Blind Melon, why not for the actual band with this new cat on vocals. Since buying my tickets, I kept listening to the new stuff they had on their Myspace page. As it turns out, just like their previous stuff, the more I listened to it, the more it grew on me. Despite this, while looking forward to it; I still did not have the highest expectations for the show. Having never seen them before, I just didn’t know what to expect.

The anticipation was high in the near capacity Antone’s. I was able to bring my “good” camera in so I wanted to get as close as I could without being obnoxious. I was able to get about three people back from the stage on the right side in front of Rogers. They started the show with Galaxy and the crowd was immediately singing along to every word. I seriously had no idea there were this many Melon Heads. Most people I know say “aren’t they the guys that had that bee video?” I tried keeping track of the set list, but between that, trying to get some good pics, and enjoying the show, something had to give. If any of you have the set list, please send it to me and I will post it. (Added 4/23/08 - Thanks to Karen at blindmelonforum.com, here is the set list)

Galaxie
2×4
Toes Across the Floor
For My Friends
Soup
Drive
Paper Scratcher
Sleepyhouse
Sometimes
Last Laugh
Wishing Well
Change
Hypnotized
Skinned (with bubbles!)
Soak the Sin
Wilt
No Rain
The Pusher

Encores:
Mouthful of Cavities
Cheetum Street
Time

The new singer Travis was right on. He rocked the old stuff without coming off as a Shannon Hoon impersonator. After five or six songs, I decided to put the camera away and just enjoy the show. And did I ever! It was an amazing performance by the whole band. I could have done without Travis comparing the Austin crowd to the Detroit crowd. Seriously? Does anyone even still live up there?

Wishing Well and Last Laugh were a couple of the new songs mingled in the set. They transitioned from a great jam session into a slowed down, somewhat similar to the Ripped Away version of No Rain. I was hoping they would do the whole song this way as the original has just been so overplayed that it would have been nice to hear it otherwise. However, when they kicked it into gear, I couldn’t help but sing along as loud as I could. Even though I usually skip this song when it comes up on my ipod or the CD, I have to appreciate it for if not for it, I may not have ever heard of Blind Melon. The crowd went especially nuts when they busted out the harmonica and played my personal (and apparently most other Melon fan’s) favorite Change. I wish I would’ve picked up a kazoo before the show so I could have kazoo’d along to another sing along favorite of mine Skinned.

(Added 4/23/08 - Youtube clip courtesy of Meredith at blindmelonforum.com)

They concluded the show with a three song encore including Mouth Full of Cavities and what is soon to become a central Texas favorite Cheetum Street which references the Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos.

Overall, this show far exceeded my expectations. If you are having any doubts about checking them out when they roll into your town, cast those doubts aside and be prepared to witness an amazing show. The same goes for the new album For My Friends, I am still getting acquainted with it, but so far so good. It is great to finally have some new Blind Melon material for my collection! On behalf of Melon heads everywhere, I just want to extend a big THANK YOU for having the courage to pick up where Shannon left off.

For more pics, check out my flickr Blind Melon Set.

Upon completing my pre-show homework, it was apparent that Still Remains would be the opening act. After giving them a listen and hearing keyboards, I decided there was no need to get to the show on time to see their whole set. As I walked into the venue, I immediately saw an August Burns Red banner and keyboards on the stage. This was a huge disappointment in two ways. One, I was missing August Burns Red. Two, they had keyboards? How did I not catch this the night before when doing my research? It took me all of about 20 seconds to realize that it was in fact Still Remains and I would not be punished for my uncharacteristic tardiness after all.

Still Remains is actually pretty good. That is until those awful keyboards kick in. Note to Still Remains. We are officially in a recession. By losing the keyboardist, you can cut payroll by roughly 17% while actually making your band better.

The first band I actually wanted to see was Evergreen Terrace. While I didn’t love them by what I heard on MySpace, I was looking forward to squeezing in a bit of hardcore at this predominately metal show. They did not disappoint. As a matter of fact, they won themselves a new fan with the show they put on. I have to give props to their vocalist Andrew for having such amazing patience regarding a certain obnoxious stage diver that kept tackling him. At one point late in their set, he actually had him down on the floor of the stage. I would have gone Phil Anselmo on him after the first time when he put him in a headlock. Instead, this cat just kept wailing along like it was nothing. Their mix of singing with old fashion hardcore style vocals makes for some very catchy tunes and they do a great job playing them live. I will definitely be picking up their latest release Wolfbiker as soon as I get a chance.

Next up would be August Burns Red. The set these guys put on could be summed up in one word. WOW! Until now, I have never used or even thought of using the phrase “rock your face off”. The problem is that right now this is the only phrase I could think of to describe this show. I may even go as far as to say that this phrase may have even been coined after seeing an August Burns Red show. This may have been the most hard hitting, energetic, utter destroyal of a show that I have ever witnessed. I believe there is an unwritten rule that a supporting act is not to outdo the headliner. In my opinion, August Burns Red got about as close as one possibly could to doing just this without actually doing so. I am certain though, that the boys in As I lay Dying would not have taken offense as they too may realize that one day, they may very well be opening for August Burns Red. If every show they put on is this good, this may happen sooner than later. Needless to say, my shopping list just got longer.

Pleasantly surprised by both Evergreen Terrace and August Burns Red I got to thinking that As I Lay Dying may not be able to continue the trend and live up to my hype. After a relatively long intermission, and with much anticipation building in the crowd, it was time for the main event.

I am not sure if it is because I am more familiar with them now or if it is that they are more seasoned, but this show was better than when I saw them on Ozzfest 2005. What stood out most to me this time was that Tim Lambesis had an amazingly dominating stage presence. When performing, he comes off like he owns the place and wants to annihilate you. At the same time he doesn’t hesitate to express their gratitude to the fans. I know most bands give the obligatory thanks to the crowd, but I detected much more sincerity from them. I have only started getting into AILD with the release of An Ocean Between Us and as expected most of the set consisted of tracks from it. Being an AILD newb, I was unable to figure out of a few of the songs in the set list. If you know them, please let me know and I will complete the list.

1. Through Struggle
2. Forever
3. Nothing Left
4. Within Destruction
5. Confined
6. Distance is Darkness
7. Meaning in Tragedy
8. An Ocean Between Us
9. Elegy
10. I Never Wanted
11. Comfort Betrays
12. The Sound of Truth
13. Departed
14. 94 Hours?
15. This is Who We Are?

It was no surprise that audience participation would continue to be encouraged during their set as it was throughout the evening thus far. Luckily they have the budget to employ enforcers which prevented that annoying stage diver guy from getting too carried away. They ended the show by inviting everybody up on to the stage and played their last song amongst the chaos. My respect for bands can come and go when I see them live. In the case of AILD, my respect for them has grown enormously after seeing them this evening.

Overall, this was a terrific show packed with rockolaty goodness. I am glad that I didn’t bail on it as I was thinking of doing earlier in the evening. With the exception of Still Remains, I will look forward to seeing all of these bands again the next time they roll through the ATX.

Part I – Maylene and the Sons of Disaster - II Album Review

Recipe for Disaster

1. Take six lean strips of hardcore and dip in batter
2. Deep fry until crispy
3. Serve with gravy and a side of greens
4. Wash down with a large mason jar of ice cold sweet tea

This is Maylene and the Sons of Disaster. Nothin’ but down and dirty hardcore, served southern style. I first heard of this Birmingham, AL based band in the March/April 2007 issue of HM Magazine. The description of their sound and The Legend of their name got me interested so I checked them out on Myspace. After listening to the four songs on Myspace which included a couple songs from each of their two releases, I immediately went out and bought their second album simply titled II.

Maylene and the Sons of Disaster are a concept band and both of their albums follow suit. II is the second chapter of the Ma Barker and son’s story. I have read in an interview with their lead singer Dallas Taylor that this CD is much more personal to the guys even though they maintain the Ma Barker story.

The CD immediately gets right in your face with Dallas’ raspy vocals on Memories of the Grove. And continues smashing your face in southern style all the way through Don’t ever Cross a Trowel which is one of the more personal songs. To me, it seems to be about getting serious with their faith and in true southern style they give some credit to Mom by stating “Cause you know Momma didn’t raise no fool”.

Raised by the Tide is another one of the more obvious personal songs on II. It reflects their appreciation of living in Alabama where Dallas growls “I’ve covered this country far and wide BUT I’LL ALWAYS BE A SON OF THE SOUTH”. In the same track, they give some more props to Mom when the whole band sings “We can’t help but be blessed, When you’ve been raised by God’s Finest”.

The CD winds down with Tale of The Runaways and the instrumental track The Day Hell Broke Loose at Sicard Hollow. These are considerably more mellow tracks, but still very southern rock none the less.

This CD has quickly become one of my all time favorites. I will be picking up their debut CD titled I as soon as I get a chance and look forward to what is to come. It is obvious that II portrays the end of the Ma Barker and son’s story. I only hope that it isn’t the end of MATSOD’s story.

Maylene will fit perfectly into two of my play lists. My “Stuff that Rocks” list (Project 86, Killswitch Engage, Corrosion Of Conformity, As I Lay Dying, etc) and my yet to be assembled “Camping Out Miles from Civilization with a Fishing Pole and a Cooler of Ice Cold Bud” list (The Band, Lynard Skynard, Black Crowes, The Allman Brothers, Blind Melon, etc).

Part II – We Believe in Dinotours tour featuring Underoath, Everytime I Die, Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, and Advent, La Zona Rosa, Austin, TX

Shortly after falling in love with Maylene and the Sons of Disaster’s sound on II, I decided to check out their tour schedule. I had every expectation of being disappointed once again that a band that I like would not be stopping in Austin, TX, the self proclaimed “Live Music Capital of the World”. That is of course because the self proclamation should actually include a disclaimer something like, “Unless you like heavy music, otherwise it’s just another liberal college town that has a lot of boring adult alternative concerts”.

Anyway, I was happy to see a stop at La Zona Rosa smack between San Antonio’s White Rabbit and Dallas’ Palladium Ballroom shows. Unfortunately, it was not a headlining tour and they would have to share the evening with three other bands. Two of which I had never really heard and one of which I could not stand. I went and bought my ticket anyway figuring at least I would get home at a reasonable hour on a Monday night after seeing Maylene.

Advent opened the show. Knowing these guys would be playing; I wanted to do some due diligence so I gave them a listen on Myspace. As it turns out, I checked out the wrong Advent. I had found the lame radio rock Advent (I refuse to link them to my blog) instead of the BA hardcore Advent from Kernersville, NC.

Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised by the Advent that I saw this evening. They were a very energetic bunch with driving hard beats and a vocal style similar to Jamey Jasta. They mentioned that they have a full length album coming out soon on a fairly big label so if you are fan of Hatebreed’s style of hardcore, I would definitely check ‘em out.

Next up was Maylene and the Sons of Disaster. Unfortunately, “professional” cameras were not allowed in the venue, so I was forced to take pictures with my Q. Now my pictures will match the sound of Maylene, raw and dirty. It suits their sound way more than the pictures.

They came out on the stage to Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA which seemed a little cheesy, yet still amusing. They played a good mix of songs from both of their albums. All of which rocked! I have not yet heard most their first album I, so I did my best with the set list. Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong on any of these.

1. Darkest of Kin
2. Gusty Like the Wind
3. Caution: Dangerous Curves Ahead
4. Dry the River
5. Raised by the Tide
6. The Mind of a Grimes
7. Memories of the Grove

The crowd was definitely familiar with Maylene and was fully into the show. You know it’s a good show when you are a good distance from the pit and still get an elbow in the head. I am glad I was a good distance from the stage because Dallas Taylor spits high into the air a lot. Just because I like a band doesn’t mean I want to get spat upon by them.

I just can’t say enough about these guys and their live show without a doubt lived up to my expectations. My only beef was that the set was way to short. I guess this is to be expected when they are just a supporting act on a tour. I look forward to seeing them as a headliner soon and will even make the drive to San Antonio as that is likely the closest they will come to Austin.

The third band in the lineup was Every Time I Die. When I checked these guys out on Myspace to get a preview, I liked what I heard so I was definitely planning on sticking around to watch them play. Aside from their overuse of movie audio clips before songs, they put on a great show.

The best pits of the evening thus far were during their set. It had been a long time since I saw a good quality circle pit. Had I not been still recovering from surgery, I may have jumped in for old time’s sake. To me, these guys were a combination of good old fashion northeastern style dirty hardcore and metal. They even threw in a few good southern style metal riffs for good measure.

Last and absolutely least was Underoath. I have tried on multiple occasions to give these guys a chance, only to quickly shut them off shortly thereafter. I have also heard that they put on a good show so I figured I would give them one more shot. So far they had two strikes against them.

Strike 1 – I already did not like them

Strike 2 – They had keyboards on the stage. Keyboards and pianos are great in some places like your living room or church. But they have no place in any metal show that I want to see that isn’t about Christmas.

Despite these things, I was going to wait and see. They came out and I quickly realized before the end of the second song that their keyboard was actually a noise machine and that they were exactly who I thought they were (Only Dennis Green could say it better). As soon as I realized this, it was strike three and I was out of there quicker than the Tigers were eliminated from playoff contention.

I just can’t get into these guys. Maybe this means I am getting old and that there are finally bands out there that just sound like noise to me. A long time metal buddy of mine joked that maybe this will be the kind of stuff my kids will drive me nuts with. And I will desperately be trying to teach them to appreciate the classics like Pantera and The Crucified.